Not Alone Anymore
by Shina Haruno
Summary: Sakura has been spending Valentines Day alone, and she never knew why she declined all of the offers to be someone's Valentine. On that day, she decided to work, but when Tsunade sends her out to the same place where her first love left her, she finds a surprise waiting for her. *One-shot* *Valentines Day Special*


**Not Alone Anymore**

**Happy Valentines Day**

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto/ Naruto Shippuden.

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"Hey, Sakura-chan! Happy Valentines Day!" He yelled, showing off a toothy grin. Ah, yes. Valentines Day... Another year alone on Valentines Day. It isn't like no one wants to be my valentine. I've been asked that a couple of times. But when I try to say yes, the word no just comes out. I can't stop it, and I'm not sure why. Is it because of him? No. I swore I'd move on. I swore I'd try to let go of Sasuke. But did I really?

"Hey, Naruto. Happy Valentines Day." I fake a smile, trying to hide the fact that this day never was happy for me. Ever since I was in the Academy, constantly rejected by Sasuke. And back in our genin days as well. I never really did enjoy this day.

"So, Sakura-chan, guess what?" He said, excited. I raised a brow urging him to continue. "Hinata agreed to be my Valentine!"

I smile at him, happy that he was able to get a Valentine. Hinata Hyuuga as his Valentine. I really do feel happy for him, but I still feel alone. I'm still the only one who never experienced a Valentine romance. I guess those things were just never for me. "That's great, Naruto! What do you have planned for her?"

Our conversation continued and ended rather quickly when he said that he was going to prepare. It's just like him to forget to prepare. I walk aimlessly around Konoha, thinking about my past. This day always brings me back to that night, the night I felt that my world shattered. The night he left. I thought I told myself to take him out of my heart, but he just keeps coming back to me like a boomerang. You throw it, it comes back. I've tried so hard these past few years to forget him and move on, but now, I know that everything I did to do so were not enough. I try to think about something else like the weather or my missions, but the couples around showing some public displays of affection do not help at all. I sigh, exasperated.

I decided to head to the Hokage Tower and ask Tsunade-sama if she needed any help in anything to pass the time. I knock on her office door and receive a "Come in". I slowly opened the door, hoping I did not interrupt anything and sigh, relieved, that I didn't. "Sumimasen, shishou." I said as I closed the door behind me and walked towards her desk. "Ah, Sakura. What is it?" She asked, holding a piece of paper on her left hand and her right laid down on her desk. "I just wanted to ask if you needed any help." I stated. She looked at me suspiciously with a raised brow. She sighs and puts down the paper she was holding. "Okay, what's eating you?" She asked. My eyes slightly widen. She knows me too well. "No, it's nothing, Tsunade-sama." I said, trying to evade any other question.

She purses her lips. "Alright. I won't ask any more questions." She said. My inner sighs in relief. "So, you wanted to help out?" I nod my head. "Alright. Can you please send these papers to the elders and tell them that I have finished looking into them. I nod and head out the door, carrying the pile of paper.

The night is coming which means that the day's almost over. I'm happy that I managed to survive this day of watching couples show off their affection towards each other. I finished helping shishou out with her errands , but she told me to stay for a little while, also saying she needed to say something to me. "Shizune, could you please give me a moment alone with Sakura." Shizune nods, knowing what Tsunade-sama meant and left the room.

Tsunade-sama looks to me and frowns a little. "Sakura, you know that I know why you're down." I bow my head, trying to hide the show of embarrassment and sadness on my face. "But I'm not going to dwell on that topic because someone wants to see you." She says, sipping her sake. "Who?" I manage to squeak out. "Just go to the main gates, and you'll find out." I looked at her, trying to hide my shock and started wondering what this was all about.

Walking to the main gates, my mind's been racing, trying to find out who wanted to see me. I finally arrive and I look at my surroundings. This was where he left me. My eyes stop at the bench I laid on when he left. Suddenly, my eyes widen at shock when I sense a very familiar chakra signature and my body freezes. 'No, it can't be...' I thought as I turned around, looking at him. Onyx clashing with emerald. 'He's here... Sasuke's... here?' He walked toward me, never taking his eyes off me.

I take a reluctant step back. "S-sasuke..." I finally mutter. He grunts. "Hn. Sakura." He says, his lip twitching up to a smirk. I cannot hide the shock in my face. Why is he here? Why now?

"Sasuke... Why are you here?" I ask, narrowing my brows. "I've been here for a week already." He says, quietly. A week?! Does anybody else know? Am I the only one who was not informed? "N-no. Why hasn't Tsunade-sama told me?" I ask aloud. "It's because I wanted her and everyone else to keep it a secret." What? Why?

"I'm not gonna fall for this." I take a step back. As much as I'd love to believe him, I don't think he'd just come back, persuade everyone to not tell me and manage to plead guilty in a matter of a week without the villagers knowing. "Sasuke, if you're just going to try and kill me again, why don't you already. It'll be quicker." My inner yells at me, saying she does not want to die yet. I ignore her, trying to keep my anger visible on my face. He looks at me, unreadable. His eyes staring intensely back at mine.

He sighs and walks a few steps closer to me. "Don't you think I would've done that by now? I'm not the kind of guy to beat around the bush." He says, a little aggravated. What he said was true though. He was never that kind of guy. I still don't get why he would be here. I still don't believe his (maybe) alibi. "I'm not joking around, Sakura." He mutters quietly but loud enough for me to hear. Should I believe him? More tears roll down my cheeks and eventually they drop to the ground. "How am I supposed to believe you? After all these years? Even after all of our attempts you never came back! Why now?" I scream, unable to hide my emotions. "You tried to kill me! Twice! Do you know how much that hurt me? Just by thinking about you, I get all mopy and depressed. Why do I even still love you?!" I gasp at the last sentence, hoping that I actually didn't say it out loud. But I can see in his face that he'd heard it.

He walks to me, still unreadable. I try to move, but I'm frozen on the spot, his eyes pinning me down. He stands in front of me, the man I've loved for a long time. "Would you at least let me say something before you yell? You're going to wake the entire village." He said, trying not to sound angry but fails. He sighs, exasperated. "Listen, Sakura. I'll only say this once. I finally figured out what Itachi meant and I came back because I've done what I can. It took a while for them to allow me into the village, but last week everyone welcomed me with open arms." I found that hard to believe. "I wanted them to keep this from you because I was sure as hell that you would react like this." I scoff. He ignores it. "That's why it took me a while to prepare for your irritating yelling." I try to say something but he lifts his hand, urging me to let him finish. "But Itachi wasn't my only reason to come back."

I stare at him, puzzled. "Then what's the other reason?" I manage to ask. "That night. This spot. What happened here." I looked down to my feet, not wanting to remember that night he left me. "You said you loved me. You just said it again. I just don't understand why you do. As everyone says, I'm a monster." He looks up at the night sky, stars shimmering. "And yet, here you are, in love with a monster who tried to..." Where is he going with this. Maybe this is the right time to ask this one question that I've wanted to ask for a long time. "Why did you say thank you?" I mutter as I raise my head. He looks at me questioningly. "That night when I... confessed. You said thank you. I had no idea why you were thanking me." I say, trying to hold back the tears that were still running. "I thank you for a lot of things, Sakura." I raise a brow.

How could that be possible? Thanking me for what? All I remember was him calling me annoying and constantly rejecting me. "I thank you for worrying about me. Thanks for watching over me during the Chunin Exams when both Naruto and I were out cold. Thanks for waking me up during those days when we trained and I was half awake, but your whiny hellos woke me up." He smirks. "Thank you for loving a monster like me." I stare at him, flabbergasted. Did he just say that? What is he possibly implying? He stares back at me as he leaned in closer to my face. "S-sasuke-kun." I mutter. "W-what are you-" He lifts my chin up and now onyx and emerald are looking intensely at each other in such a close distance. "You still don't get it." He says quietly. As I was about to say something, he silences me by closing the distance between our lips. My eyes widen in shock, but they later close. One of his hands snake around my waist and the other now on my cheek. I wrap my arms around his neck and respond to the lip lock. I feel butterflies in my stomach. How can one touch make me feel like this?

He releases his lips and stares at me. "Do you get it now?" He asks. I slowly nod as he smirks. "Tch, good. Because, quite frankly, you were about to get really annoying." I don't know why, but I start to giggle. We sit down on the bench he left me on when he went rogue. I lay my head on his shoulder and his hand entertwines with mine, both hands resting on his lap, as we look at the night sky and it's shimmering stars. "Happy Valentines Day, Sasuke-kun." I whisper. "Hn. Happy Valentines Day." That was my first Valentines Day that I spent with someone who wasn't either of my parents. It was with Sasuke Uchiha. I guess I'm not alone anymore.

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**Ja Ne!**


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